Our Conference On The Seven Valleys

Our weekly book-reading sessions will soon draw to a close, after almost 2 years of being 'in conference'. It is with mixed feelings as I end this 'Tuesdays with The Hoopoe': part of me feels melancholic to part with such exquisite and enchanting company (the barrenness of having nothing to do on Tuesday nights will be felt almost immediately), yet it beckons and heralds a new stage of our journey - and that is something that must be welcomed by all the participating birds, as you embark in your journey of knowledge and experience with others.

Yet, as we face this impending end, I hope the many Tuesdays we have spent together have carved a special warm place in your hearts - as you have been a part of history in such a gathering. I always attempt and thrive to embark on exploring new and unique methods of conducting my classes in the hope of opening minds and offering fresh perspectives to my students. If this mode of instruction has been refreshing and beneficial to you, I hope this will not be the one and only time such classes are held here.

It now remains for you to take stock of all your conferences and to put them into practice - and that is something which only you have the power to accomplish and achieve. In your personal journey, remember to pray for your fellow birds as they embark on theirs - for sometimes, we cannot fly alone.

To wrap up the seven valleys that we are now reading, I hope you will find the summary below valuable and constructive, insya-Allah.

"The journey of the birds takes them through the seven valleys of the Quest, Love, Understanding, Independence and Detachment, Unity, Bewilderment and finally, Poverty and Nothingness.

1. In the Valley of the Quest, one undergoes a hundred trials and difficulties.

2. After one has been tested and become free, one learns in the Valley of Love that love has nothing to do with reason.


3. The Valley of Understanding teaches us that knowledge is temporary, but understanding endures. Overcoming faults and weaknesses brings the seeker closer to the goal.


4. In the Valley of Independence and Detachment, one has no desire to possess nor any wish to discover. To cross this dificult valley, one must be roused from apathy to renounce inner and outer attachments so that one can become self-sufficient.


5. In the Valley of Unity, the Hoopoe announces that although you may see many beings, in reality there is only one, which is complete in its unity. As long as you are separate, good and evil will arise; but when you lose yourself in the divine essence, they will be transcended by love.


6. When unity is achieved, one forgets all and forgets oneself in the Valley of Bewilderment. Stepping into this sixth valley, the birds become astonished at the beauty of the Beloved. Experiencing extreme sadness and dejection, they feel that they know nothing, understand nothing. They are not even aware of themselves.


7. The Hoopoe declares that the last Valley of Poverty and Nothingness is almost impossible to describe. In the immensity of the divine ocean, the pattern of the present world and the future world dissolves. As the birds realise that the individual self does not really exist, the drop becomes part of the great ocean forever in peace. The analogy of moths seeking the flame is used.

Out of thousands of birds, only thirty reach the end of the journey. When the light of lights is manifested and they are in peace, they become aware that the Simurgh is them. They begin a new life in the Simurgh and contemplate the inner world. Si-murgh, it turns out, means thirty birds; but if forty or fifty had arrived, it would be the same. By annihilating themselves gloriously in the Simurgh, they find themselves in joy, learn the secrets, and receive Immortality.

So long as one does not realise one's nothingness and do not renounce one's self-pride, vanity and self-love, one will not reach the heights of that Immortality. Farid ud-Din Attar concluded the epilogue with the admonition that if you wish to find the ocean of your soul, then die to all your old life, and then keep silent."